Message From the President

By Arnie Haskell, Suffolk Chapter President

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, I am pleased to say that our chapter is at the forefront of ensuring that children less fortunate than ours have something that will give them some joy they would not experience otherwise.

Once again our Toys-for-Tots program has been a rousing success, collecting over 3,000 toys for children in need. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks and appreciation to our Young CPAs Committee members for their dedication and hard work in making this worthwhile program the great success it is. I would also like to thank all of our members and their firms who support the program. You should all be proud of the contribution you’ve made to the community.

The Suffolk Chapter’s various committees continue to provide programs to educate our members and keep them abreast of what is happening in our profession. Our annual Student Night, on Oct. 31, sponsored by our Cooperation with Educational Institutions, was well attended by our members as well as by over 30 students from various local colleges. The students are the future of our profession, and events such as these can only help to ensure our profession’s future viability. Thanks to the committee for bringing so many students and practitioners together.

Our annual all-day Accounting and Auditing Update Conference was held jointly with the Nassau Chapter on Nov. 15. With the current legislative environment, this conference is more important than ever. With the expert speakers on the agenda, I am certain that our members received some great information to bring back to their practices. Thanks to Paul Becht and the Accounting and Auditing Committee for making this event possible.

The General Taxation Committee had an event planned for Nov. 13 on E-filing presented by Internal Revenue Service and New York State personnel. Unfortunately, due to a last-minute scheduling issue, this event had to be postponed. We expect this event to be rescheduled in the very near future, so look in our newsletter for the rescheduled date. This program is extremely important as it becomes evident that E-filing will become mandatory in the near future.

The chapter had a big day on Nov. 18. In the morning, the Small Business Committee held a seminar entitled “Equation for a Successful Business.” The event, sponsored by the Bank of New York, was well attended and a great success. Thanks to the Bank of New York for their support and the committee for its hard work. In the evening, our Young CPAs Committee sponsored a chapter meeting and networking event at the Irish Coffee Pub. As always, our young CPAs drew a nice crowd and a good networking opportunity for those who attended.

The Estate and Financial Planning Committee held its annual half-day conference on Nov. 22. I am certain that the program was a success and the participants received excellent continuing professional education. My thanks to committee chair Gary Friedenberg, his committee and the speakers involved, who devoted significant time and effort to make this program successful.

December is also an active month for the chapter, starting with a meeting on Dec. 3 sponsored by our Emerging Technologies Committee. The meeting provided information regarding outsourcing the preparation of tax returns to places such as India. This is a major step for the profession and requires knowledge of the procedures and careful consideration.

On Dec. 4, our Cooperation with Attorneys Committee held an evening technical session on Retirement Planning at the San Marco Restaurant in Hauppauge. This is an important topic for us as well as our clients.

As you can see, our committees are very active in providing relevant programs for our members. I thank all of those who take the time from their busy schedules to give of themselves for the good of the profession. I must continue to reiterate our need to maintain active committees. We need you to participate by becoming active in one of our committees and attending our chapter events. Committee applications are available in various issues of the newsletter or you can contact me directly.

As 2003 comes to a close, we can now begin to look forward and plan for the upcoming filing season. I wish all of our members a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukah and a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

Arnie Haskell can be reached at 631-752-7400, x. 390, or ahaskell@hrcpa.com.

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